Wednesday, June 3, 2009

A quick trip through the Wayback Machine finds me reeling as I realize that this entry is actually 18 years old (1991), but it still feels fresh when you watch it! That's the unyielding power of Ridley's younger brother TONY SCOTTand the blistering, glossy violence of NUMBER 5:

THE LAST BOY SCOUT!

Now, I know what many of you are thinking at this point: Rod's off his nut with this one! But when you watch the movie again in creative terms, you'll catch yourself rethinking: Hmmm... This could make a kick-ass limited series for a comic! Allow me to explain...

Back in the day, writer SHANE BLACK was on his game BIG TIME... Remember, we're talking about the man that created the LETHAL WEAPON series, as well as THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT(for a movie that sagged at the Box Office, it's STILL a cult hit on DVD...) ... And most recently, Black returned to Hollywood with the indie noir KISS KISS BANG BANG with Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer ( a movie I actually liked... Purely for nostalgia.)

Anyways, theLAST BOY SCOUT was the first time the term 'smashmouth' was used to describe an action film--- where the dialogue was used as a form of action device--- BRUCE WILLIS as supercool private investigator JOE HALLINBECK was a brilliant piece of writing on Black's part--- his knack for character dialogue was smartassed, quick-witted, and breakneck! (Incidentally, if you re-watch DIE HARD WITH A VENGENCE, you'll notice similarities, dialogue-wise, between the John McClane and Zeus characters ( uncredited rewrites by Black, you say?! Couldn't be---! Right? But I seriously digress...) With the addition of former pro-baller turned private investigator JIMMY DIX ( played up to comedic effect by DAMON WAYANS ), why shouldn't we see another installment of HALLINBECK INVESTIGATIONS? Told in a cinematic style with whiplash action; this one can easily defeat any argument within 22 pages! ( Incidentally, BOOM Studios are already betting on that same mode of thinking with their upcoming DIE HARD series)

Now, I admit freely, that I studied the Shane Black method of writing when I wrote my second script draft of FIERCE CREATURES back in early 91', and I still stand by it to this day! We're almost done, folks!Stay tuned to PLANET GRIFFIN as the countdown continues...

2 comments:

ARRRGH! NERVE! TOUCHED!shane black is the best comicbook writer who (to my knowledge) never wrote comics. he is the #1 reason that i came up with my book in the first place!"The Last Boyscout" and "Long Kiss" are comics i MUST see before i die... the little girl from TLBS is the BOMB! any comic series MUST feature her cussin' out bad guys and chippin' in on some Nancy Drew shit.